Intellectual Property
In order to begin explaining Copyright infringement, it is important to explain Intellectual Property first. Intellectual property is much more complicated than normal property. It is slightly troublesome to define when something is just an idea or when it is true Intellectual Property. In its simplest form Intellectual Property is a product or original work that someone has created from an idea (Media Smarts).
Copyright
Copyright is the right to copy a certain Intellectual Property. This right is usually owned by the creator of the Intellectual piece (Canadian Intellectual Property Office). It is the copyright owner's sole right to reproduce the piece and to grant permission for others to use it. Copyright laws last until 50 years after the death of the author. It is also 50 years after the original of a picture is taken, and 50 years after a song is recorded (Intellectual Property Institute of Canada). For specific information on Canadian copyright laws search the Canadian Copyright Act.
Issues
The issue with Copyrighting is Copyright Infringement. Copyright infringement happens most often because of confusion and laziness. As we have seen the rules as to what is Intellectual Property are fairly hazy. People can easily make costly mistakes. Laziness is also a problem. People find it far too cumbersome to put in the effort of searching for resources and citing them, so they decide not to. The problem here is if the offenders of copyright infringement are caught, they could be subject to punishments of up to 1 million dollars, and imprisonment for 5 years (Intellectual Property Institute of Canada). It is clearly a problem we should all be aware of because the consequences could be dire.
Video on Copyright and Creative Commons
